


Power and Control

by live_laugh_murder



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Making Out, Murder, Murder-Suicide, Nogitsune Stiles Stilinski, Void Stiles, Void Stiles is back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-08-19 19:05:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8221636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/live_laugh_murder/pseuds/live_laugh_murder
Summary: Theo has always wanted Void Stiles back, and now he's doing something about it.





	1. Get Me Out Of My Mind

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on one of my favorite edits I've ever seen, go watch it!!! 
> 
> https://youtu.be/7VAGpZIyXe4

It's cold. The air feels wet. It's dark, but that may be because Stiles' eyes are covered.

"Hello?" He calls out, trying to move once again. His wrists are strapped down and he's reclined back slightly in some sort of bed. "Is anybody there?"

It's just more silence for a few minutes, but then he hears a clang. It's like metal hitting cement, then scraping across it a bit.

"Hello?'

The sound stops immediately, but Stiles just tries to sit up more and look around. "I know you're there. Who are you?"

He's just met with more silence, and for some reason this is the time he starts getting scared. "Wh - Where am I? Who's there?"

For the next hour or so he just yells out, whether just screaming or yelling for his friends, it doesn't matter. "Scott! Lydia! Help, someone! Who are you? Liam! Theo, help - "

"I'm here," comes a voice that sounds far away, like it's across the room.

"Th - Theo?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Stiles releases a long held breath, shaking and looking in the direction of his voice. "Get me out of here. Help me, please."

"I am."

His voice is closer now, and suddenly Stiles's eyes are trying to adjust to the light. It's dim, but it hurts when he's been seeing nothing but black. When he can see normally, he's looking at his friend, who's standing with his arms crossed and staring intently at Stiles.

"Where are we?" Stiles asks, teeth chattering as he looks around at the underground area. There are weird machines and tubes all over, making him feel like he's in some sort of science fiction movie.

Shaking his head, Theo sets the blindfold on a table full of tools next to the metal bed. "I can't tell you that."

"Why? What are you - " Stiles stops, looking up at the completely calm, content look on his friend's face. "What's going on, Theo?"

Theo sighs, beginning to pick up the instruments on the metal table, inspect them, and put them back down. "I'm gonna help you."

"Get me out of these," Stiles demands, pulling against the leather straps holding him down.

"I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?" Stiles pulls harder, grunting. "Let me out of here, Theo! Where the hell are we?"

Theo scoffs, setting down what looks like a small saw. "Come on, Stiles. You're the smart one. Figure it out; look around. Where are we?"

So he turns his head in all directions, finding big machines with some type of liquid and tubes leaking with a silver substance.

His stomach drops as he whispers, "Dread Doctors."

"I can't do this by myself, because I don't know how," Theo continues, still half-heartedly inspecting the tools. "I'm sure I could figure it out, but it's easier to get help, and I'm just thankful they agreed to it."

"Wh - What are you talking about?" Stiles asks.

Theo slams a knife down, leaning over the human's face. "You still feel that darkness inside of you, don't you?" He asks. "That thirst for power? Control?"

"What?"

"The nogitsune. The void. You still feel it. No matter how small, there's a part of you that wants it back," Theo says surely. He stands back up, smiling at Stiles. "I'm just helping you get it."

Stiles is still confused, but he understands why he's here more, and why Theo won't get him out. But there's still so many things that don't make sense. "H - How did you... We didn't tell you about that."

"I might be the new guy, but I know things," Theo explains. "Like everything you did. You hurt so many people. Your friends were afraid of you, weren't they? And you liked it. You weren't the weak link anymore. You were feared. It felt amazing."

Stiles shakes his head, tears stinging his eyes as he pulls on his restraints. "No... No I didn't... No it didn't... Don't..."

Theo shakes his head, sighing heavily. "Isn't it interesting - " He frees one of Stiles' hands, holding it down as he reaches for the other. "How you're surrounded by these strong, supernatural creatures that could end your life by barely lifting a finger, yet you've hurt more people than all of us combined?"

The human tries all he can to free himself from Theo's grasp, but it's not even worth trying. "No, stop... I didn't... let me go!"

"This is gonna go by a lot faster if you shut the hell up and cooperate," Theo growls, fangs bared.

Stiles has been threatened by fangs and claws too many times too shrink back in fear, so he keeps fighting. He kicks his legs, actually managing to throw Theo off by biting his arm. The chimera steps back, glaring at Stiles as he jumps off the bed and starts running.

He soon finds himself running around like a chicken with its head cut off, however, when he can't find his way out. It doesn't seem like it would be a big space, but he has no idea where the door to get out is.

"If you would let me help you, Stiles, you wouldn't have to run from all your problems," Theo says, backing him into the wall. "Don't you want to be able to fight? Don't you want to be strong?"

When Stiles shakes his head, tears that we're hanging on fall down his face and he curls in on himself, his arms over his face to protect himself from who he thought was his friend.

"You're weak, Stiles. You can't do anything for yourself. You're useless to your friends." Theo straightens Stiles up, forcing him to look at his face and scoffing in disgust at his terrified, heartbreaking expression. "You're a burden. You know it, too."

Stiles shakes his head feverishly, attempting to push Theo away. "No I'm not. Don't - please let me go..."

The chimera just pushes him harder into the wall. "Come on, Stilinski. You want out? Then get out," he taunts, listening as his heart rate rapidly increases.

"Why are you doing this?" Stiles asks as he tries to punch his way past Theo.

Theo smiles smugly, digging his claws into Stiles's skin. "I want you. You don't get why I came back, Stiles."

The human pauses, breathing heavily and looking at Theo with confusion in his eyes.

"I came back for you," Theo says. "Back when you were being possessed by the Nogistune, when you were void... I know you liked it, so don't try to deny it. You hurt your friends, your best friend. And you loved the power. I'm just helping you get it."

"What do you want out of it?"

Theo rolls his eyes. "Do you have any idea what we could do together? Listen, I might have lied about my intentions, but when I say that I want to stay with you, it's the complete truth. We could have anything we want. I want you, Stiles."

"I don't want you. I don't want anything you want," Stiles spits, glaring at Theo. "Get your fucking hands off of me."

And he kicks him in the shin, throwing him back when he loses his balance and stepping away from the wall. Theo catches himself on a table, throwing a punch. But Stiles steps back in time, then goes low and socks him in the stomach. When Theo stumbles, he throws another punch at his face.

Theo falls into a big machine filled with weird fluid, looking up and snickering. "There it is!"

Stiles rubs his knuckles, his expression full of hatred as he looks at Theo's smug grin. He screams, tackling the chimera to the ground and repeatedly hitting him. What scares him is the fact that Theo doesn't try to fight back. He just laughs as he's beaten to a pulp, face bloody and swollen.

"You feel that, Stiles?" Theo asks. "That anger that you've been burying down? It's all coming up. You're mad at yourself for not being more, and you're mad at your friends for not caring enough, and your mad at me for lying to you. Am I right?"

"Shut up! Shut the hell up!" Stiles screams, just repeatedly bringing his fists down on Theo's face. "What do you want? What do you want from me? Why won't you leave me alone?"

Theo laughs. And laughs. And laughs. He sounds crazy, which Stiles is convinced that he is. It's like he thinks he's winning, while he's being beaten up by someone who should be much weaker than him. Why does he seem so happy?

But then, maybe he is winning.

Stiles thinks back to when Scott was first turned, when he was helping him keep his heart rate down, helping him not to get angry. Maybe it's the same thing. Theo wants him to be angry.

Immediately stopping, the human gets off of Theo and backs away. He's trying to calm his heart, his breath, to not be so fucking mad. But it seems so impossible when he's looking at Theo, who lied to him, to all of them, for months.

"Keep it coming. Doesn't it feel great to have control? Keep going."

Theo gets to his feet, practically stalking towards the human. "Why not think about your dad? About how much you messed up his life after your mom died? You were such a pain in the ass, weren't you?" He shoves Stiles back, continuing to taunt him and try to get in his head.

"Do you even know how long you've been here?" At Stiles's silence, Theo answers, "Three days. You've been in and out. I've just been waiting for you to stay awake."

Stiles takes slow, shaky breaths, having a hard time calming down. "O - Okay?"

"They aren't even looking for you," Theo says, crossing his arms. "Scott, Lydia, Malia, all of your friends... Your dad. They just think you're having another crazy episode."

Breath catching in his throat, Stiles looks up and stops moving. "You're lying."

Theo shrugs. "Am I? Think about it. You've lost your mind and caused them trouble plenty of times before. They're tired of it by now. Everyone is going about their everyday business."

"You're. Lying."

"You're forgetting that everyone else still thinks I'm doing what's best for them. They don't know that I'm the reason no one has heard from you in days. I've been talking to them. They're done dealing with you, Stiles. They all know they're better off without you."

Stiles can no longer hold back a soft sob, and he turns away from Theo, shaking his head and rubbing his face. "No, no, no, no, no... Stop that - stop, please, I'm done..."

"Aren't you sick of being the one that no one needs? The normal one, who can't do anything but sit on the sidelines and deal with your _fucking anxiety!_ You can't do anything to help, Stiles, no matter how much you want to!"

Theo is yelling now, and Stiles is jumping with each word. All he can think is 'I hate you, I hate you, I hate you so damn much,' and all he wants to do is kill him, strangle him with his bare hands, let him bleed out, whatever the hell it takes. He just needs to see Theo Raeken in pain.

The thought terrifies him. It's exactly what Theo wants, and besides, that's not who he is. He is not the Nogitsune. He is Stiles. He will not let anyone else get hurt because of his stupid actions.

So, starting over, Stiles takes a deep, shaky breath as Theo stands over him with a smirk. "You can't make the Nogitsune possess me again."

"What?"

Stiles shakes his head. "We already got rid of it. The Nogitsune is gone. I can't be dark again."

Theo just laughs. First softly, then in a way that makes Stiles scared to know what he finds so funny. "What? What the hell are you laughing at?"

"You don't need that spirit to go dark again, Stiles. You can do it all on your own. I mean, you're already halfway there, aren't you?" Theo asks. Stiles squints in confusion. "I haven't even been back that long and you've already managed to kill someone... How did it feel when you knew you took Donavan's life, Stiles?"

Suddenly his mind is back in the library, and Stiles shakes his head slowly. "That was self defense, you know that..."

"Really? How did it feel?" Theo smiles as Stiles attempts to sink further into the wall he's now standing against.

"I was defending myself. He - He was gonna kill my dad - He was gonna - Theo, he was gonna kill my dad, I couldn't just let him!" Stiles says.

Theo scoffs. "It felt good, didn't it? I'll bet you wanna do it again, just see if you can get the same rush as you did before."

"No - I don't." Stiles is trying to remain calm, confident, but it's not working. He's visibly shaking and mentally broken.

They both just kind of stand there looking at each other, Theo standing tall and proud and Stiles barely able to hold his weight any longer. Then the chimera brings his fist as hard as he can into Stiles's stomach.

The human groans, falling on the ground and holding himself. Theo tries to hit him again, but Stiles is able to push him back enough to stand up on his own, unbalanced.

"There you go," Theo chuckles. "Fight back. Defend yourself. I can kill you, Stiles. I can kill your friends. I can kill your dad. Everyone you have ever cared about. So it's up to you. You can lie down and take it, and then I'll go kill them. Or you can try your best to stop me, and they'll still die."

Stiles looks at him with complete and utter disgust, shaking his head. "Son of a bitch..."

Theo shrugs. "Your move."

So the human throws his fist at Theo, grabbing his shoulder when he stumbles back and kneeing his stomach. Theo quickly regains his balance, and tries to shove Stiles into the bricks, but Stiles ducks in time, grabbing Theo's arm, twisting it, and throwing him into a big puddle of water.

Both of them are completely taken aback, mostly because this time Theo is really trying to fight. Stiles just looks at Theo with wide, surprised eyes, but Theo gets this smug grin on his face.

"See, Stiles?" He asks. "Even without the Nogitsune, you're always in danger of going void."

"Why me? Why am I the only one going dark?"

Theo stands up again, wiping himself off. "The Nogitsune left a bit of darkness in you even after it stopped possessing you. You're just feeding it, little by little, letting it get bigger and bigger. Eventually that's all you'll be - just the void. But by the time that happens we'll all be bored of waiting on you. So I know a way to speed things up."

"You - no - what?" Stiles asks. "How?" All he gets is that stupid smug smile in return, and he starts losing patience. "How? What the hell are you doing? Why are you doing this?" He screams, throwing himself at Theo again and repeatedly hitting him. "Why? What do you want?" Stiles yells.

He only stops beating Theo to a pulp when he hears a loud nose, like people stomping. "What was that?"

Theo's smile grows and grows until he's just laughing. "Bye, Stiles."

Eyes growing wide, Stiles turns to see these three figures in weird suits walking slowly towards him. He knows immediately who they are. Then they're suddenly much closer, and he has to turn away because he doesn't want to look, and he's grabbing desperately onto Theo's hands, shirt, shoes, anything. "NO! NO, WAIT! STOP! WAIT, PLEASE! THEO PLEASE DON'T, NO! THEO!"

But the Doctors already have his arms and they're dragging him to the table as he kicks and screams. "STOP! PLEASE DON'T! SCOTT! LIAM, HELP! LYDIA!" He just sobs and cries and screams and kicks as he's strapped down to the table, looking at Theo standing behind. He's just watching, which breaks Stiles's heart. "THEO," he cries desperately, reaching out once more before his second wrist is restrained.

The last he sees of his old friend before the Doctors block his view is him leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, smiling in excitement.


	2. don't leave me. don't leave us.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mostly just angst im so sorry

Most of Stiles's life has been lived in fear. When he was younger, it was only because he was an anxious person. But in the last few years he's been waking up scared for his life every morning.

But when he comes to, there is nothing. No fear, no anxiety. He's only felt this once in his life before. The only person there when Stiles opens his eyes is Theo, and he's just sitting in a chair nearby, watching.

"Morning, sleepyhead. What the hell took so long?"

Stiles tries to get up, but he's still strapped down. It's so easy to just break the leather and rope, freeing his arms and legs and getting to his feet. "I was tired," he replies sarcastically. There's a dirty mirror behind the metal bed, and he looks at himself. He looks strange. He's only looked so tired and weak once in his life before, but the funny thing is, he's never felt stronger. 

Theo rolls his eyes with a scoff and stands up as well. He immediately notices the difference. Stiles might have the same face as before, but he is most definitely a different person. For once his heart is steady, he's not shaking, and he's holding himself up tall, looking completely confident, which is very rare for Stiles.

"See?" Theo asks. "Isn't this better than constantly being afraid? You can take care of yourself now. You don't need Scott, or anyone else."

Stiles is smoothing out his clothes, attempting to get dirt off of them. 

The chimera clears his throat, like he's waiting for something.

So Stiles looks up at him, pausing his thumb that was rubbing dirt off of his knuckles. "I'm not thanking you, Theo. You did nothing for me."

"What - " Theo scoffs, glancing away. "Didn't do anything? What the hell are you talking about? This - " he motions to Stiles, "Is all me!"

"Yeah?" Stiles asks calmly. "Were the one that drugged me up, knocked me out, and did who even knows what to make me void?"

Theo huffs, shaking his head. "Well, I brought you here. I pissed you off, I got your heart rate up, which I needed to do for this to work."

"Please, my heart was always racing, it's not hard to do."

"So I did nothing?" Theo asks, getting worked up.

Stiles shakes his head a bit, smiling softly. He puts a hand on the chimera's shoulder, as if comforting him. "Oh, no, Theo, you did something. You sat here and looked pretty."

Theo growls, grabbing Stiles's hand and twisting it behind his back. There isn't enough time for him to be in any pain, though, because he sneakily slips out and pushes Theo into the wall. He's holding his hands down, their bodies so close that there's no room for Theo to move away. The chimera only looks angry for one more moment before he starts chuckling.

"You're just gonna be a pain in the ass, aren't you?" he asks. "I'll have to get used to babysitting."

Now Stiles is grinning, too. It's so different. Instead of happy and cheerful like his smiles used to look, he just looks smug and satisfied. "I don't need anyone to babysit me anymore. I don't need anyone."

Theo sighs, his eyes darting across Stiles's face, his eyes, cheeks, lips, and pushes him back. "You're not gonna run off, are you? Now that you can survive on your own?" he asks.

Stiles shakes his head. "Not before I check in with my dad, maybe pay my old friends a visit."

"Small steps, Stiles," Theo says, smiling in contentment, glad everything is going his way. "But right now I have a question..."

"Alright."

Theo smirks. "Before, when you were possessed, void, dark, whatever you wanna call it... Did you ever get the pleasure of having sex? I mean, you're so much stronger, you could take so much more..."

Smiling, Stiles shakes his head and looks Theo up and down. "No. This baby's still a virgin. I was a little preoccupied then."

Raising a brow, Theo steps forward. "You don't seem too busy now..."

Stiles only has to glance at his lust-blown eyes before he starts getting turned on. He roughly pulls Theo closer by his collar, slamming their lips together.

Theo growls, not worrying about being gentle because this might be Stiles, but it isn't Stiles. He can take it. The chimera literally rips his shirt off, shoving his tongue in his mouth.

Moaning softly, Stiles pushes Theo into the wall and unbuttons his pants. He starts to pull them down so he can blow him, but Theo turns them around and pushes Stiles to his knees first.

"Who said you're in charge?"

Stiles chuckles. "You don't always have to be the alpha."

"Ah, but I am."

Rolling his eyes, Stiles huffs. "Shut the hell up and fuck me."

-

"It's been a week! We've looked everywhere, what else can I do?" Scott asks, pacing back and forth in the living room.

Kira shakes her head. "It's gonna be alright. He'll come back. We will find him, ok?"

"How do you know?"

"Because we've all made it this far. We're not gonna lose anyone after all we've been through."

Scott stops walking, looking over and scoffing. "We've already lost someone. Allison didn't make it. So don't say we all made it."

Kira sighs. "I'm so sorry, Scott, I didn't mean to - "

"Forget it."

Kira grabs Scott's hand gently and pulls him down to sit. "We will find him. I swear to God we will find him, and he will be okay. Alright?"

Still not completely believing it, Scott nods. "Yeah. Okay, okay..." He breathes deeply, trying to calm himself down. "Okay..."

-

Melissa was supposed to be home an hour ago. But in the past few hours there have been a strange amount of patients in the emergency room. Maybe it's the insane storm outside, but this rarely happens, and they didn't have enough doctors and nurses in, so she stayed behind to help. By three in the morning they've run out of room. Patients are sitting on the floor in the halls, in chairs, spare gurneys, whatever they can get.

She's kneeling by a guy who broke a window while sleepwalking and now needs stitches, wrapping another bandage around his hand. "We've called all the doctors in, someone will be helping you as soon as they can."

A girl right next to him suddenly begins to throw up, getting blood all over the floor next to her and her clothes. "Oh, okay, bucket, bucket, bucket..." Melissa stands up, stepping over patients and making her way to a closet. When she finally gets back, she hands the teenager the pink bucket, sighing. "This is so unsanitary," she whispers.

She's about to go grab more bandages when another nurse taps her shoulder. He looks tired and distressed. "Melissa. The power just went out on second floor. We need to bring some patients down here."

"What? Are you seeing this, we don't have any - " Before she can complain about space, the lights above them begin to flicker. "No, no, no..." The next second the only thing lighting up the hall is the lightning outside.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." Melissa rubs her face stressfully. "Okay, we're gonna have to transfer them... Let's..." She groans. "I'm supposed to be sleeping right now."

The nurse huffs in agreement. "We're all supposed to be sleeping right now."

"Okay. Go call - "

There's a scream, then more flickering lights. Melissa can't help thinking about how familiar this is. This has happened before. This feeling is not new, either.

She runs in the direction of the sound, making sure all the patients in the hall are okay. "Who screamed?"

An older man lifts a hand and points a finger at a room at the end of the hall. She makes her way to it, opening the door and walking in. The woman - her name is Mary - whose room this is isn't lying in her bed. She doesn't stop. Melissa takes a deep breath and keeps walking, turning the corner into the bathroom behind the shower door, Mary is lying. There are bleeding cuts on her face, it's already starting to bruise. Her eyes are wide open, staring at the ceiling.

"Mary? Mary? Oh, God..."

Melissa kneels in front of her, grabbing her wrist and putting two fingers to it. She stays there for a whole minute, but doesn't feel anything. "No, no, no, no..." She holds back tears, trying to be strong. That's when she sees the marks on her neck. It's like fingers were pressed into the sides of them. They're forming into bruises already.

She doesn't think she can stay here anymore. Someone needs to call the police. They need all the ambulances and officers they can get. So she gets out as quickly as possible, finding that half of the people in this hall are already gone. Sirens can be heard outside, so someone must have already called for them. 

Melissa continues walking, slowly because it's hard to see. She turns a corner down another hallway to start doing checks that everyone gets out of their rooms and into an ambulance. It all seems fine until the lights start flickering again. They stay on for a few seconds, then go dark again. And for just a moment when they're on, she swears she can see a figure standing at the end of the hall. 

"Hello?"

There's no response, and the lights stay off.

"Is anyone there?"

Then the lights flicker on for a second, and there is definitely a person there. As she comes closer, very hesitantly because she's terrified, she can suddenly make out the face.

"Stiles?" Melissa stops moving, because something isn't right about this. It isn't her son's best friend finally coming back after a week of being missing, it's more than that. She just doesn't know what to expect.

"Melissa," is all he says in reply.

The nurse takes a deep breath. "Where have you been?" As she very slowly inches closer, she can see how heavy and dark his eyes are, how pale his face is. It looks like he hasn't slept in weeks. "What happened to you?"

Stiles ignores her question, crossing his arms over his chest. "Anything look familiar?" he asks. "It should. We've been here before, haven't we? This - all of this - has happened once before."

"Don't tell me you kids are time traveling now too," Melissa says breathily, voice full of fear. She wishes that were the case.

Stiles shakes his head, changing the subject. "So, tell me what you really think about me."

Melissa squints in confusion. "What? Stiles, what the hell do you mean?"

"Tell me what you think of me. I'm just your son's irresponsible friend, the bad influence... I bet you get real tired of me fast. You and I might be human, but at least you can take care of yourself, right? I can't do anything for shit!" Stiles says, beginning to raise his voice.

Melissa jumps slightly. "No. No, why are you saying that? Of course I don't think that. You're like my second son. I love you, I just want you to be safe."

"Bullshit."

Stiles can feel his rage beginning to boil over. Before he was numb, now he's shaking with anger.

"You and everyone else just see me as a burden! I can't do anything! I'm the one who everyone has to look over, I'm the only one who causes the problems! Just admit it, Melissa. Your lives would be so much easier without me in them."

Melissa shakes her head feverishly. "No! That's not at all what we think."

She watches him cautiously, and they just stand there in silence waiting for the other to do something.

"Stop lying to me, you bitch."

At this Melissa immediately turns and runs. She doesn't even think. She just knows that she needs to get away. Stiles, of course, chases after her. It's too easy for him to catch up and grab her by the hair, pushing her into the wall. She falls to the ground and yells in pain, but acts quickly and kicks Stiles as hard as she can when he comes for her.

She uses the time she has when Stiles stumbles back to scramble to her feet and run as fast as she possibly can. She can't think about how scared she is, she can't even think about why this is happening, she just knows that she needs to get away from him.

She runs and runs and runs until she finds herself in an elevator. Stiles is right on her heels, and she presses the down button repeatedly, as if it will speed up the process. To her immense relief, the door closes just as Stiles reaches her; she can hear him banging on the metal as she goes down slowly.

Melissa pulls out her phone and shakily starts to find her contacts. The sheriff is probably outside, and as heartbreaking and confusing as that confrontation might be, she needs help. The door opens again and she stops, beginning to run down the hall.

But then suddenly he's there, running at her from the opposite side. Letting out a terrified scream, Melissa turns into an operation room and locks the door behind her. As Stiles hits the door repeatedly, Melissa holds her phone to her ear and listens to the dial tone that seems to go on forever. 

"Melissa, where are you?" the sheriff asks when he picks up. "I'm in the waiting room, I've - "

"Downstairs!" She yells. "S - Surgery room, hurry!"

All John hears is her scream when Stiles breaks the door in and knocks the phone out of her hand. "Stop, please don't!"

Stiles steps closer, but she's able to get her hands on a scalpel that's lying on the table. She holds it out in front of her, like she's threatening him, like she'd ever think of hurting the poor boy.

Stiles laughs softly. "What are you gonna do with that, Melissa?"

Melissa is so close to crying, she can barely hold herself up. "Stiles, please. I don't want to hurt you. Please don't make me."

He laughs a bit harder now. "Hurt me? You think I'm scared of being hurt by you?"

Stiles goes for her, but she holds the scalpel up in front of her, and it goes right through his palm. His scream could probably be heard all throughout the building.

"Oh, my God," Melissa gasps, staring at the scene with wide eyes.

Her mistake was letting go of the tool, because now it's his. He takes it out, and now he looks even more pissed. Grabbing her by the throat, Stiles pushes her into the surgery table. She's gasping for breath when he stabs her the first time, then he lets her throat go to use both hands and double the force of the scalpel in her stomach.

It just keeps going and going, he just keeps stabbing her. She's covered in blood, and so are his hands.

"Stiles," Melissa coughs. "Y - You called me mom..."

Stiles just shakes his head with a small smile. "We all seem to say things we don't mean, don't we?"

He finally takes the scalpel out for good, dropping it and let her body fall to the floor.

John is running as fast as his legs will take him. The elevator wasn't working, so he had to run down several flights of stairs, and that brought him to the wrong side of the building. 

"Melissa!" he yells as he runs.

Finally he comes across a door that's wide open and prepares himself, tightening his grip on his gun. With a deep breath, the sheriff turns the corner. And at the sight of his best friend's bloody body on the floor, he's suddenly in a different world. It isn't real. It can't be. This is a terrible joke. Everything is.

"Melissa?"

John forgets that someone could be right outside, waiting to attack him, he forgets that he's constantly in danger, and he lets his gun drop. What if he had gotten there just a little bit earlier? Could he have saved her? Probably not, it would just put them both at risk, but that doesn't occur to him.

The sheriff pulls Melissa close, holding her hands and cradling her. "No..." he whispers brokenly. "No, please... M - Melissa... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Holding two fingers to her wrist, then her neck, John sits like a statue and tries not to shake too much. He needs to find something, anything, for hope that he can save her. "Please be alive... Melissa, stay alive, please... I - I need you... Scott needs you, please don't - don't be dead..."

There's no response, no sign of life, absolutely nothing.

Then it hits him that she's dead, she's gone forever. He lost her. Scott doesn't have a mother anymore, he doesn't have a best friend. 

And he screams and yells, hitting the ground and crying over Melissa. He can't figure out how he can bring himself to stand and leave, he doesn't want to leave. He never wants to let her go. But there's a hand on his shoulder, and a distant voice saying his name.

"Sheriff, I'm so sorry."

John looks up, and Parrish is standing over him, a sad, heartbroken look on his face.

"I killed her."

"What?" Jordan asks, brows furrowing.

"I couldn't get here fast enough, so, in a way, this is... It's my fault. I killed her, Parrish. I killed my best friend."

The deputy sighs, shaking his head. "Let's get you home. I'll take care of everything here tonight, okay?"

John shakes his head, wiping tears away. "No, I can't leave her. I need to know who did this."

"You aren't gonna figure out who killed her in one night, sheriff. I'll tell you what we find tomorrow. Let's go."

Jordan grabs John's arm and pulls him up, practically carrying him out of the room and towards the stairs.

As they walk zombie-like up the many flights of stairs, all John can say is, "Scott... What about Scott?"

"I can tell him. Don't worry about it."

Sheriff Stilinski shakes his head softly. "No, no, I should do it... Take me to his house..."

So Parrish drives John to the McCall house, following his instructions and going back to the hospital after he gets out of the car.

It takes about five minutes for Scott to realize the doorbell is ringing rapidly and get out of bed. He tiredly makes his way downstairs and opens the door, confused when he sees John standing in the door looking panicked with tears on his cheeks.

"What - What is it? Is everything okay?"

The sheriff shakes his head feverishly, stepping in and closing the door behind him. "Scott... It's... I don't know how..."

Now that he's wide awake, Scott's mind can't stop spinning. What if Stiles came back, what if he's hurt?

"What is it?"

John can only get out a choked sob. The only time Scott has ever seen him cry was at Claudia's funeral, so something must be really wrong. The teenager hugs him, just like he did the last time he caught him crying. The sheriff's arms are hugging him tightly, like he always sees him hug Stiles.

"Scott, it's your mom," he whispers brokenly. "She's gone."

Scott freezes, and for a second John is sure he isn't even breathing. The alpha pulls away, his eyes looking dead. "What do you mean?"

"Sh - She's dead, Scott, I'm so sorry... She's dead..."

Suddenly Scott's limbs are like twigs, threatening to break if he makes a wrong move. He can't even wrap his head around the thought of his mom being dead, of never being able to see her again. "No, no, she... She should be home... She's home... She got off earlier this morning..."

The sheriff is having a hell of a time trying to stay strong for this kid, just wanting to be done and cry and break. "No," he says sadly, voice shaking. "They were short-staffed and busy this morning... She had to stay over time, and..."

"How?" Scott asks, finally looking up. "What happened?"

John just shakes his head. 

"How? How did she... What happened?"

Sighing, sheriff Stilinski wipes his eyes. "She was - she was murdered... Someone stabbed her..."

This is when Scott finally lets himself go. He nearly falls to the ground, but John catches him and brings him to the couch. "Wh - Who di - id it?" Scott sobs. "Who w - was it? Why did they - " He stops, unable to talk anymore when the tears just won't stop and his throat is sore from screaming.


	3. good grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott's friends try to comfort him after his mom's death

"You need to slow down," Theo says in the school bathroom, where he dragged Stiles to.

"Why should I?"

Theo huffs. "Cause this isn't what we talked about! This isn't the plan."

Rolling his eyes, Stiles crosses his arms. "I wasn't aware of this plan. I thought you just wanted me like this because you're greedy and power-hungry."

"Of course there's a plan," Theo says, frustrated and trying not to raise his voice. "There's always a plan. We can't just go around killing for fun! That's when things get messy."

Stiles scoffs. "And why would I care about messy, huh? I don't follow anybody's plans. I don't need order, Theo, I need chaos. I never agreed to do what you want. So don't try to make me."

Letting out a low growl, Theo pushes Stiles against the wall. "You're like this because of me, so you will do whatever the hell I ask you to do. I'm sure I could figure out a way to put you back."

Stiles just smiles softly. "And I'm sure I could figure out a way to stop you." And then he wraps a hand around Theo's throat, just chuckling as he gasps for air, and let's go at the last minute.

"Asshole," Theo wheezes, standing back up on his own.

"Knock-off." Stiles pulls Theo closer and roughly kisses him, feeling the chimera's smirk against his mouth immediately.

Theo pulls away. They can't go too far because class will start soon, so he just smiles and says, "You look better."

"What do you mean?" Stiles asks.

"You look less like a drug addict. Don't worry, that's a good thing."

During attendance in homeroom, everyone sees the sad look on Coach's face when he calls Scott's name. There's no reply, and there probably won't be for a few days. There's not one person in the school that didn't hear what happened only a few hours earlier.

Another sad look as he calls Stiles's name follows, but he looks taken aback when there's a faint "Here" from the back of the classroom. All heads turn, all eyes are on him, and he just nods and glances away.

"Welcome back, Stilinski," Coach says, a hint of a smile on his face.

His friends at the front of the class are completely surprised, they have a hard time looking away. After class Malia, Lydia, and Theo corner him in the halls.

"Where were you?" Malia asks immediately.

Lydia grabs Malia's arm. "Give him space. Stiles, are you okay?"

Stiles looks at the ground, taking a deep breath. "I'm okay, yeah, I'm okay..."

"Do you have any idea how long you were gone?" Theo asks, feigning concern.

"Too long. I don't wanna make a big deal, I just want to get back to normal."

Lydia rubs his back, knowing that cornering him like this will make him feel anxious. "Do you wanna go home? I can drive you."

Stiles shakes his head. "No, no, Lydia, I'm fine. I don't wanna make a scene. Can we just go to class?"

"Stiles, you were gone for a long time, this is - "

Theo shakes his head at Malia. "If he really needed help he would ask for it."

"Fine." Malia nods her head, eyes glancing down. "What happened to your hand?"

Stiles holds up his bandaged hand, rubbing it. "I had to break a window to get out of where I was."

"And where were you?"

Shaking his head, Stiles breathes shakily. "I - I don't know, it was dark. Can we talk about this later? Let's go."

-

Scott lies his head back down on his wet pillow, wiping more tears onto it. Kira hasn't said anything all day, they've just been laying in bed and crying or just sitting in silence. Kira knew Scott shouldn't be alone, so she skipped school to be with him.

Though, they weren't alone for long, because his father showed up around noon, having heard what happened. He's heartbroken and grieving, but Scott doesn't seem to have any interest in bonding over their loss.

"Scott? Hey, how are you?" Theo asks when he comes into his room.

Scott looks over at the others, just wanting to cry more, but he doesn't have the energy. "I don't know."

"How many fucking casseroles did you get today? There are like seven in the living room," Malia comments.

"There's more in the kitchen. I don't know if they really care, or if it's just pity..." Scott rubs his face. "I thought you had plans with Hayden," he says, looking at Liam.

The beta scoffs. "We can go out another time. You're more important right now."

"How's your dad?" Lydia asks.

"I don't know," Scott replies. "We've said two words to each other."

They all sit in silence for a few minutes until the alpha gets tired of it. "Uh, the funeral is Friday. I - I want everyone to go."

They all nod immediately. "Of course we'll come, Scott, are you crazy?" Liam asks.

Scott shakes his head and sighs. "I want Stiles to be there too. Which means we need to find him soon. It's been too long and I'm sick of feeling like we've given up on him."

The others all hesitate, glancing at each other. Theo clears his throat awkwardly. "About that."

"What?"

"He - He was at school today."

Scott raises his eyebrows, perking up a bit. "Stiles was at school? Where is he now?"

"He wanted to go see his dad, he had no idea he was back yet," Malia answers.

"Oh, my God, is he okay?" Kira asks as she sits up.

Lydia nods. "Yeah, I mean he says he is, but... You can never be sure with Stiles."

"I have to go see him, I gotta go."

Scott jumps out of bed, slipping on shoes and grabbing his helmet. The others don't try to stop him, just follow him down the stairs. They just make it past his dad without him asking any questions, and when Scott gets on his bike, Kira kisses him and sighs.

"Call me when you're done talking to him, okay? I'll come back over, we can go out, or we can lay in bed and watch movies. Whatever you want. Alright?"

Scott nods softly and pecks his girlfriend's lips. "Okay. I will."

Stiles and his father are sitting on the couch talking when Scott rushes in. Seeing his best friend alive and well for the first time in too long feels like a huge weight lifted off of his shoulder. Stiles quickly gets up and they hug like it's the last time they'll see each other.

"Scott, I'm so sorry," Stiles says in a broken voice. "I found out at school, I was gonna come see you after I talked to my dad. I'm so sorry, what can I do?"

Shaking his head, Scott sniffles. "Don't do anything. Take care of yourself. Where the hell have you been?"

"I don't know," Stiles answers. "Wherever it was, it was dark, I couldn't see anything. Ended up getting hurt finding my way around." He holds his wrapped hand up, sighing.

"Are you alright?" Scott asks.

Stiles takes a long breath, looking as if he's considering the question. "I - I think so. I will be... Wh - When's the funeral?"

"Friday," Scott answers. "You're coming, right?"

Stiles immediately nods. "Yeah, of course. I don't even... I don't know what to say, I can't... She..." He lets Scott pull him back in for a hug, sniffling.

"My dad's back," Scott states, changing the subject after a few minutes as they sit down. "He got in this afternoon."

"How is he?" John asks.

Scott shrugs. "Heartbroken. I just... I don't want to have to deal with him."

"You shouldn't have to, he should be taking care of you." Stiles wipes his eyes with his sleeve, taking a deep breath and recollecting himself.

"No, that's not what I mean." He waits a moment, sighing. "I barely know him, he wasn't there for most of my life. So I don't want to have to... to live with this guy who I barely even see as my father. I don't want to go back to him and only have him for the rest of my life."

The sheriff shakes his head an puts a hand on the alpha's shoulder. "Scott, you don't only have him. You still got Stiles. And you still got your friends. And you still got me. And if you really don't wanna live with him, you can stay with us. Okay, bud?"

Scott hesitantly nods. "I - Yeah, thank you..."

"Do you wanna do something?" Stiles asks. "I mean, I get if you just wanna lay low because of everything... But it might be good for you to get your mind off of things."

Shrugging, Scott sighs. "I don't know. I don't think I can, I just - "

The sheriff stands up. "You can have everyone over here tonight, I'll get you guys some Chinese food or whatever you want."

"Okay, fine, I guess..." Sighing, Scott leans back on the couch and rubs his face. "Thanks, guys."

"Anytime," John says, patting Scott's back. "I have to go to work, keep an eye on each other, okay?"

Scott gets to his feet, saying, "Wait," and when John turns around he goes back to looking like a lost puppy. "I wanna know who did it."

Sheriff Stilinski can't look the poor kid in the eyes. Instead he looks over his head and nods. "Yeah, me too. We're doing our best."

So that night they find themselves all spread around Stiles's living room, takeout boxes and sodas set around the room, and Lydia's playlist playing softly in the background. No one acknowledges what happened, they all just want to forget for one night.

"What even is this song?" Malia asks with a judgmental look as she stuffs more rice in her mouth. "It's weird."

"It's Regina Spektor, and she's amazing." Lydia rolls her eyes. "Stiles gets it, he loves her too."

Malia looks to Stiles, raising an eyebrow, and he just shrugs. "I'm not ashamed."

"It's not that bad, come on," Liam sighs as he lies back on the couch.

Mason groans, sprawling himself out on the ground. "I'm bored, let's do something!"

"God, you're so mature," Lydia scoffs.

The group sits in silence for a few minutes before Stiles shoots up, grinning. "I know what we can do."

"Okay, what?"

"Let's go to the school."

Everyone rolls their eyes, chuckling. "Why?" Theo asks.

"Because there's a pool full of water and no one to swim in it," Stiles explains, as if it's obvious.

Kira shakes her head, unsure. "I don't know, it's probably not a good idea..."

"Is anything Stiles does a good idea?" Scott asks, sitting up. "I think we should do it. It might be fun."

No one argues with him, because there's no reason Scott shouldn't be able to do whatever he wants right now.

-

The water is warm enough when they're in it, but as soon as Kira gets out to take a break, she's shivering. "So we got our swimsuits, but we didn't think to bring towels?"

"I think there's some in the locker room, I'll come with you." Scott hops out of the pool and puts his arm around Kira, and they leave the room.

"Do you think he's doing okay?" Liam asks the others as soon as the door closes.

Stiles shakes his head. "Not really. But he feels the need to always be okay for everyone else."

"That's not healthy," Mason comments.

"No it's not. Some people are just really good at tricking other people, though...."

Before anyone can ask why he sounded so ominous, somebody's phone makes a ding sound, and Mason recognizes it as his and climbs out. He fishes his cell out of his pocket and looks out it. "Shit. My mom is pissed, Liam, we were supposed to be back an hour ago."

"Well, can't she understand why you're out?" Malia asks.

Liam shakes his head and starts swimming to the edge. "You do not want to piss Mason's mother off. He doesn't even bother to wait for a towel before throwing his shirt on and grabbing his pants. "We'll see you guys tomorrow. Tell Scott we had to leave."

After they run out the door, Theo starts chuckling at them. "That's ridiculous."

Stiles shakes his head. "No, but for real, Mason's mom is scary. Don't mess with her."

"Uh, I have to go to the bathroom," Theo announces. "Stiles, wanna come with?"

Malia scoffs, rolling her eyes. "I thought only girls went to the bathroom in groups."

"Ha ha, very funny." Theo squeezes Stiles's hand under the water, tugging him towards the wall. "Let's go."

"Okay, fine, I'm coming."

As they're getting out, Scott and Kira return with a stack of towels, and each of them grab one and walk past them and out the door.

Theo waits until they're in the halls before grabbing Stiles's throat and pushing him into the lockers. "Be careful, Stiles," he says angrily, barely opening his mouth.

"What did I do this time?" Stiles asks, rolling his eyes and pulling Theo's hand off of him.

Growling, Theo shoves him back. "Watch your mouth. Careful what you're saying around them."

Scott, Malia, Kira, and Lydia only get about two minutes of fun in the pool before the door opens and Liam and Mason are running back in. "Guys! Come - Hurry..." Mason yells, out of breath.

"What's wrong?" Scott asks, not wasting a minute to get out of the water.

"It's Stiles - Theo - just come on!"

Everyone follows them, running through the halls wet and half naked. Liam and Mason stop them and motion for them to look around the corner, where they can see Stiles being pinned against the lockers, Theo's hand gripping his throat and blood on his face.

"I swear to God, if you ruin this for me - "

"What are you gonna do?" Stiles chokes out. "What if I tell everyone about how it was you who took me - and your entire plan, huh? They would never believe you over me - "

Theo growls loudly, and Malia is ready to attack, but Scott puts an arm in front of her, mouthing "wait."

"If you tell anyone..." Theo threatens slowly, "I. Will. _Break you_."

That's when Scott breaks into a run, throwing Theo to the ground. Stiles slides down, his legs seemingly giving out. Since Scott's first priority will always be him, he kneels by him, and Malia makes sure that Theo doesn't get up, growling at and hitting him.

"Scott - Scott it was him," Stiles breathes, tears in his eyes. "He kidnapped me, he kept me there for weeks, Scott, he isn't... Don't let him hurt me..."

Scott shakes his head, hugging his best friend. "Of course not, he's not gonna touch you again." He wipes some blood from Stiles's mouth, heartbroken and pissed. They all trusted Theo, and let him help, and now this?

"Malia, stop!" Lydia scream, trying to stop her friend from killing Theo. "That's enough!"

She just shakes her head. "He took Stiles! Who knows what else he's done?"

Scott stands up and pulls Malia away. He doesn't worry about Theo getting away because he's already nearly unconscious from Malia. "We need to get information out of him. We need to know why, so we can't hurt him. Not yet."

They're all distracted by Stiles letting out a loud sob, and when they look down he's on the ground shaking. "I'm sorry... I didn't tell you, I'm so sorry..."

"No, Stiles, it's okay," Lydia assures him. "We heard it, he was threatening you."

"But why would he do this?" Mason asks, confused.

Malia scoffs, pissed. "Who knows, but whatever it was, he probably killed Scott's mom, too."


	4. we're a mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> basically just the group trying to get answers out of Theo. It's not very exciting, but I'll try to make the next chapter better.

"Listen, I have no idea what we're doing, and I don't think any one else has a clue either... Everything is so out of place and chaotic, and I don't know what to do. I know I'm always anxious, but please this is... It's different and - "

Derek taps on the next voicemail, putting the phone back to his ear and rubbing his face.

There's an exhausted sigh from the other line. "It's bad, Derek. We need help. We - We need you... I need you. We're just gonna keep losing people, I can't - I can't... I don't think I can deal with this. You're all - "

"I don't know where you are, or if you're even alive, but... this is serious. We're just kids. We don't know how to handle any of this stuff."

"Oh, God, I need to stop talking... Okay, um... Melissa's dead. Scott needs everyone he can get, even if he won't admit it. Please, Derek. Please come home."

Derek turns off his phone, throwing it to the side. Listening to Stiles's scared, panicked voice always moved him to do something, to remind him that he has to do something to help, to fix things for the kids. And apparently months of being apart from them doesn't change that.

-

"He's just laying on your bed, Scott!" Stiles exclaims, pacing around the kitchen.

"But he's unconscious!"

"I don't care, it's like he's taking a nap! What happens when he wakes up? How are we gonna keep him here? Does anyone have any heavy chains?"

Liam nods. "You do."

Huffing, Stiles rolls his eyes. "Yes, Liam. I have chains. But are we really gonna use chains to hold him down like he's some newbie werewolf?"

"Deaton is bringing something to help. He should be here any minute."

Sure enough, just a few minutes later, the door opens and Dr. Deaton enters with a black bag. He quickly sets it on the table in front of them and unzips it, retrieving a small bottle.

"What's that?" Malia asks.

"Kanima venom."

"Where the hell did you get Kanima venom?" Scott asks.

Deaton begins unscrewing the cap, walking up the stairs with the others following him. He finds Theo beaten and unconscious resting on Scott's bed and looks him over. "When I was doing tests on Tracy, I got plenty of it. I didn't know if I would need it, but now I'm glad I did it."

As the doctor forces the venom down Theo's throat, Scott finally steps back and breathes, his face in his hands. "I don't get it... I - We trusted him..."

"I know. Don't put yourself down, man, he got to us all," Stiles assures, a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"I still don't understand, though. What does he want? Why is he here?" Deaton asks.

Lydia sighs, her eyes not leaving Theo, as if he'll get up and leave at any moment. "That's what we're trying to figure out."

"Scott," Deaton says breathily, turning to the alpha. "You shouldn't be dealing with this right now. Where's your father?"

"He went back home to pack things up. He'll probably be back tomorrow," Scott answers. "And I'm fine. Dealing with this is so much better than laying in bed and doing nothing. And, listen, if he did this to my mom... I need to know."

Deaton glances at Theo then looks back to Scott, unsure how to deal with the situation. "And what if he did? What are you gonna do? Or what are you gonna do if it isn't him?"

"Then I'll figure out who it was. But when I find out who it was, I'm... I'm not just gonna let it go."

Kira clears her throat, looking up from her phone. "Um, guys, my dad isn't very happy about me being out so late."

Deaton nods. "You should all go home. You have school tomorrow."

"We're not seriously going to school after this are we?" Malia asks, scowling.

"You might be fighting evil, but you still need to keep your grades up," the doctor states, sounding like a parent.

Kira, Malia, Lydia, and Liam all grab their things, Malia and Liam looking pissed about leaving. When everyone looks at Stiles, he just shakes his head. "No way. I'm staying here."

"What - Why does he get to stay?" Liam asks.

"Because he has missing for two weeks, so he has en excuse to be out of school."

It seems like just as the front door closes, Theo coughs himself awake. He quickly sits up, and almost gets out of the bed, but freezes and inspects his shaking hands, and then he's falling back into the bed.

"Kanima venom?" he asks, looking at all three of them. "You know that won't last long, right?"

Deaton shrugs. "I think we have enough," he says, holding the bag full of bottles up.

Theo growls, looking frustrated as he can't make a move to attack anyone.

Scott steps forward, his arms crossed as he looks down at him. "You're the one who took Stiles?"

Theo doesn't say anything, just looks to the other side of the bed, where he finds Stiles standing, looking terrified. He nearly believes it, too. He almost thinks that somehow his plan failed and Stiles is back to himself, and now there's no hope. But he shakes the thought off, rolling his eyes.

"There's no more lies you can tell, Theo," Stiles says shakily. "Might as well tell the whole story."

"What do you want?" Scott asks. "Why are you here?"

Turning his head back to Scott, Theo smirks softly. "I told you, Scott. I want a pack."

"So why lie to us? Why hurt Stiles?"

He would probably shrug if he could. "Just a little fun."

"Did you kill my mother?"

"I might have. But whoever it was, I applaud them. That bitch was getting annoying."

A low growl escaping his lips, Scott leans over Theo and grips his throat. "I'm going to get answers out of you, one way or another. So you can answer now and be in a lot less pain in the long run, or you can keep acting stubborn."

Despite not being able to breathe, Theo laughs. "I've told you everything, Scott... I just left out a few important details..."

Scott loosens his grip, standing up straight. "What? What details?"

Theo is still laughing, his eyes crinkled in the happiest, worst way.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Sighing, Theo looks between Scott and Stiles. Finally his eyes settle on the Alpha. "Yes, I want a pack. But I want my pack. My own. And you just can't be in the picture if I'm gonna be the alpha of them."

"Of who?"

"Everyone," Theo answers. "Liam, Kira, Malia, Lydia... Stiles... All of your pack, Scott, will be mine, and you will be dead."

Stiles slowly shakes his head. "No. There's no way any of us would want to be with you over Scott. You're insane."

"Maybe a little," Theo chuckles. "But it's all about power. That's something the Dread Doctors believe too."

Scott squints, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"See, when you're like me, all you really want is power," Theo explains. "I mean, if I can't even be a real werewolf, can't I pretend? Why the hell can't I be the alpha for once?! Why can't I be powerful?"

It takes Scott and Deaton a minute to put the pieces together, and Stiles says it just as they realize.

"Oh, God, Scott. He's a chimera."

"The first chimera," Theo corrects.

"So what?" Scott asks, glancing away. "You're not happy with being fake? Like you said, you'll never be a werewolf. That's gotta suck. The closest you'll ever come is pretending to be real, right?"

All Theo wants to do is get up and strangle that annoying, righteous throat of his. "So what are you gonna do, huh? If you're gonna kill me then do it."

Scott shakes his head. "We aren't going to kill you."

"What, you're just gonna let me walk out of here? I don't think you understand, Scott. This isn't stopping when we're done here. I'm not gonna stop trying to kill you."

"Don't tempt me," Scott threatens, his glare stuck on the chimera. "We'll just keep you here until we figure out what to do with you."

Chuckling, Theo shakes his head at their sloppiness. "Yeah? And what happens when you run out of the good stuff? You think some old rope and duct tape is gonna hold me?"

"I might have something for that," Deaton cuts in. "I'll be back in a little bit." He starts to head for the door, motioning at the boys. "Stiles, come with me."

The teenager looks up, taken aback. "I don't think it's a very good idea to leave these two alone together, is it?"

"We'll be okay. Go ahead."

Sighing, Stiles nods and follows Deaton. They head outside and get in the doctor's car, starting on their way to the animal clinic.

When they get inside, Deaton immediately starts rummaging around in the cabinets and shelves. He looks panicked and rushed. Stiles can practically see the wheels in his mind turning as he quickly tries to come up with a solution.

"What's wrong?" Stiles asks. "What are you looking for?"

"Wolfsbane. I had a whole bag with - it was right here..." Deaton wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead, turning his head and looking around the room. "I don't understand..."

"Then you should look a little closer, Doc..."

The doctor pauses, looking back up at the teenager with a confused expression. "What?"

Reaching into his jacket pocket, Stiles pulls out a handful of small bottles and injections. "I said maybe you should look a little closer."

Deaton takes a whole thirty seconds of staying frozen in place to think about what to do. He has no idea who or what this is in front of him, so it could be dangerous for him to stay and make small talk. But is it any smarter to stay and try to fight?

"Who are you?" he asks in the end.

Stiles chuckles, rolling the items around in his hand before putting them back in his pocket. "I'm Stiles."

Deaton shakes his head. "You're not Stiles."

Once again, Stiles laughs, but harder. "I am."

"What do you want?" Deaton asks, not daring to move a muscle.

Stiles sighs heavily, beginning to walk around the room and fiddle with different tools and books. "Come on, Doc... This has got to feel at least a little familiar to you, right? Think about it for a minute. The lies, the tricks... the deaths? I'm not always who I seem, am I?"

It hits Deaton so hard that he's surprised he doesn't fall over.

"Nogitsune."

Stiles sets a book down, smiling. "Good job."

"How?"

"I had help from a special friend."

"And where's your friend now?" Deaton asks, his hand very slowly reaching for his phone in his pocket.

"Paralyzed. In Scott's bed."

The doctor's hand finds it's way into his coat, but Stiles is too fast. Before he knows it, his head is hitting the metal table beside him and he's on the ground. "Stiles, listen to me, this isn't you! It has control over you, you have to take it back!"

Stiles laughs, bending over Deaton with a scary smile on his face. "But this is me. I'm not going back." And with that, he throws his head into the ground, staying to make sure he's out cold.

-

When it hits the hour mark, Scott knows something is wrong. The clinic is just ten minutes away, it shouldn't be taking this long. But he can't leave Theo here, because the venom could wear off. He's just injected more after the first dose started wearing off, but he doesn't want to risk anything.

"Are you gonna get that?" Theo asks, snapping him out of his train of thought.

Scott looks up, and before asking what he's talking about, hears a quick tapping at the door. "I - I'll be back."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Theo calls as he rushes out of the room.

The last thing Scott is expecting to see standing at his front door is his old friend, so when he opens the door to find the werewolf, he's completely taken aback.

"Derek? Wh - What are you doing here?"

Derek steps forward and pulls Scott into a hug hug, sighing. When they pull away, he gives Scott this look, and the alpha knows that he knows.

"Stiles called me. Are you doing okay?"

''Not really. But I have so many other problems to deal with before I think about that."

Derek looks around. "Where is everyone?" he asks.

"School," Scott answers. "Stiles is with Deaton, but... they should be back by now."

He starts leading the other werewolf upstairs, explaining, "They went to the clinic to look for something for... well, to take care of our problem. But it's been too long. Something's wrong."

"And what's your problem?"

They get to Scott's room, and he points to the bed. "That."

"Who the hell is this?" Derek asks, eyeing the chimera suspiciously.

"Theo. A chimera. He's - "

"Okay, wait, what's a chimera?"

Huffing, Scott crosses his arms. "I guess there's a lot you need to catch up on."

"Can you compact it into two minutes?"

So, just as Scott is finishing a summary of the past year, his phone rings. When he sees Stiles's picture on the screen, the phone is pressed to his ear in a flash. "Stiles? Stiles, are you okay?"

"He's gone," Stiles's voice, broken and scared, says. "Deaton's gone."


	5. two evils

"What the hell do you mean you have to go?" Liam asks. "We just got here - the first bell hasn't even rung yet! Where are you going?"

Kira huffs, fumbling to quickly open her locker. "Scott called. Something's wrong, and I need to keep an eye on Theo."

"What happened? Can I come?"

"No, it's nothing you need to worry about. It's not even that bad, just..." Kira rubs her face stressfully. "Just stay here. I'll call you later."

Shaking his head, Liam steps forward and blocks her way. "I want to help. Please, Kira, you can tell me what it is. I've been dealing with this stuff for a while now. You don't need to protect me. What happened?"

Kira sighs in exhaustion. "I don't know, okay? Deaton disappeared. They're gonna go find him."

"Let me come, please. I can help you watch Theo or I can look for Deaton. Just let me help!"

Once again, Kira shakes her head. "No, go to class." When he refuses to move, she decides she's had enough. "Liam? I have a ninja sword around my waist. Do not make me use it on you."

-

"Do you remember anything?" Kira asks, watching as Scott tries to calm Stiles down.

"No! I can't - I can't remember what... I don't know..." Stiles lets out a soft sob, wiping his pale face. "I'm so sorry, I couldn't... Now it could be my fault if... Oh, God, what if..."

Scott shakes his head quickly. "No. No, hey, don't think like that. We're gonna find him and we'll be alright. Why don't you go back with Kira and just relax?"

Nodding, Stiles sighs shakily and shakes out his hands nervously. "O - Okay, I... Okay..."

"C'mon, let's go," Kira says. She puts a hand on Stiles's back, leading him to the passenger side of her car and opening the door.

"Do we even know where to start?" Derek asks as Kira gets in the car and pulls out of the parking lot.

Scott shakes his head. "No idea."

"Maybe we should call someone who's good at finding people," Derek suggests.

"Like who?"

Derek raises an eyebrow. "Lydia?"

The alpha bites his bottom lip, looking around them. "Her specialty is finding dead people, Derek."

"I know. But it's the best chance we've got now."

So in the middle of Econ, Lydia's phone starts ringing, moving the attention from Coach to her.

"Lydia, phone off," Coach says, looking annoyed.

"Sorry, I - " Lydia is about to turn the device off, but when she sees the caller ID she knows she can't just ignore it. "Um, it's... This is important, can I - ?"

Coach just shakes his head. "Turn your phone off!"

"It's important, please, I'll just be - "

But Coach just grabs her phone from her hand and powers it down, his mood for the day now ruined. "I said phones off."

When the bell rings, Lydia rushes out to the hall, desperate to get to her car and leave, but she finds herself lost in the buzzing of the students. They're swarming around her, all talking amongst themselves. But it sounds like they're all screaming... it's so loud, it's not even conversation. Everyone is screaming at the top of their lungs, like they're in some kind of terrible danger, but at the same time they're just walking through the halls minding their own business.

"Lydia? Are you ok?" Malia asks, a hand on her shoulder.

Lydia jumps and turns around. "I - Yeah, I just..." Brows furrowed, she looks around her, searching for where the screaming is coming from.

"What is it? Do you hear something?"

"Someone's screaming..."

"Who is it?"

Lydia rolls her eyes and huffs, turning and giving Malia a look. "I would have said something by now if I knew. Call Scott, find out what's wrong. He called me and I couldn't answer."

She starts to walk away, ignoring Malia calling after her in confusion. She doesn't even know where she's going, or who she's hearing, but something is here.

Malia stops her at the front doors, her phone in her hand. "It's Deaton. They can't find him. He needs you to go see if you can help."

"No, no I can't. I have to stay here. Something is wrong here and I need to know what."

"But - Lydia, this is Deaton. He's pretty much the one who saved all our asses. We need to find him," Malia argues.

"Then you go!" Lydia exclaims. "Remember when I get these feelings, people die, right? Maybe I can prevent it this time."

As the hall slowly clears out, it becomes so much quieter, and the screaming becomes so much louder.

"What's going on?"

They both look up, finding Liam walking toward them. Lydia groans in frustration. "Go with Malia and find Deaton. No one talk to me, I need to think. I need quiet. Go!"

Malia and Liam don't need to be told twice; Lydia can be scary if she wants.

-

Kira sits down by Stiles on the couch, handing him a cup of hot tea. "Everyone is helping look for Deaton, okay? We're gonna find him and it's gonna be alright."

Stiles nods shakily, sighing. "Okay... Thanks, Kira."

"Of course. Is there anything else you need?"

"Actually, yeah." Stiles sets the mug on the coffee table. "I need someone to tell my dad about this. And I don't think I can tell what happened a fourth time. I'm so tired. Can you just...?"

Kira stands up right away, nodding. "Sure. I'll be right back. I won't be long, just... Are you able to keep an eye on Theo?"

"Sure. Just hurry."

Kira nods again as she grabs her bag and keys and heads out the door. As soon as it's shut, Stiles lets all of his muscles go, his body stops shaking, and he breathes normally again. He peeks out the curtain to make sure she leaves before turning and heading up the stairs.

"You kidnapped the doctor?" Theo asks when he walks in Scott's room. "How sloppy can you get?"

Stiles shrugs. "Would you rather I leave you poisoned with wolfsbane?" he asks, holding up one of the small bottles from his pocket.

"No, I would rather be out of this fucking bed," Theo replies, annoyed.

"Ah..." Stiles chuckles, climbing onto the bed, onto Theo. His knees are on either side of the chimera's waist, and he smiles smugly. "Who's powerless now?" As Theo rolls his eyes, Stiles leans down and roughly kisses him, his hips moving against the chimera's still body. After a couple minutes, though, he starts feeling something stirring, and he raises an eyebrow. "The venom's wearing off, isn't it?"

Theo starts focusing all of his energy on moving his body, concentrating on just a finger at first. Once he lifts it, he's able to slowly move his arm, then suddenly he has Stiles on his back, unable to move himself.

"I'd get out of here if I were you," Stiles advises. "Kira will back any minute."

"I'm not scared of some kitsune," Theo scoffs.

Smiling, Stiles says, "You know I'm just a dark kitsune, right?"

"Like I said. I'm not afraid."

Stiles sighs. "Maybe you should be."

"Who's pinning who to the bed here?" Theo presses his lips to Stiles' for a few seconds before pulling back and lying by his side. "You have no idea how happy I am with this."

"With what?"

"Everything. You. Us together."

Stiles rolls his eyes and smiles smugly. "Don't get all emotional on me."

"So where's Deaton?" Theo asks, raising a curious eyebrow.

"That is for me to know and for them to find out."

Sitting up and holding himself up with his elbows, Theo smiles softly. "Is that another one off the list, then?"

Stiles sits up too, looking down over Theo. "There is no list. I don't need a list to tell me what to do. But, since you're asking, if everything goes right, he won't be able to help them much."

-

It's so dark and cold, but from feeling around Deaton has put together that he's in his clinic. He can't remember anything. Is this some weird dream? Where are the kids? Isn't it morning? Why is it so dark?

He walks to the front desk, feeling around for the door to get out, but he trips over something on the floor and falls. "What - " Groaning in pain, Deaton gets to his feet and finds the light switch.

Though, he immediately regrets switching it on, because when he can finally see, his eyes find Scott McCall lying on the floor, blood pouring from his side and eyes cold and dead.

"No..." Deaton whispers. "No, no, no... Scott?" He kneels down, trying to cover up the wound so he stops losing blood. "Scott, no, get up! You're okay, buddy, get up... No..."

He needs to stay here and try to help Scott, but he immediately shoots back up when he hears someone screaming.

Running back to the exam room, Deaton finds Lydia, just screaming, her hands over her ears. Around her are bodies. Malia, Kira, Liam, Mason, Hayden, Derek, Melissa, John, Chris, Allison, and so many more, all lying dead around her.

When Lydia stops screaming, she looks up at Deaton with the most terrified expression. "Wh - What did you do? What did you do?"

"What?" Deaton asks, confused. "Lydia, what happened?"

"You killed them!" she yells. "My friends... you killed my friends..."

Deaton shakes his head feverishly. "No, listen calm down. This isn't - what the hell happened? What's happening?"

"No, stop!" the redhead screams, fear in her wide eyes. "Don't!"

Deaton shakes his head. "I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? Just calm down." He raises his hands slowly and tries to reassure her, but when he does he sees what's scaring her so much. He's holding a gun with his bloody hand. "What - this isn't - I didn't - "

Lydia nearly trips over all the bodies as she tries to run away, getting to the back door behind her and struggling to pull it open. "No. No, no, please open, no..."

"Lydia!" Deaton yells. "I'm not gonna hurt you! Why would I hurt you? Please, just think for a minute..." But still, as he says this, his arm is raised, gun pointed at the teenager, and finger on the trigger.

"Please," Lydia begs softly, having given up hope. "D - Don't do this... Don't, please..."

The doctor gasps and stumbles back when he hears a loud sound, watching Lydia fall to the floor, a bullet hole in her head. He doesn't understand; he couldn't control it. Then he looks down, at the bodies on the floor, on his hands, his clothes... He killed them all.

His hands shaking, he drops the weapon and runs to the front door. But no matter how much he pushes or pulls, it won't budge. He even tries to throw things at the glass, and shoot it. Nothing.

-

Kira comes back about half an hour later, but Theo is long gone by then.

"I - I don't know where he went, I tried to stop him..." Stiles replies quickly, sounding anxious.

"No, it's my fault for leaving you alone with him..." Kira says, pacing back and forth. She takes a deep breath, rubbing her face. "Okay, I just need to call Scott, he'll know what to do..." She pulls out her phone and continues walking back and forth in the living room, while Stiles watches her and listens to her side of the conversation.

"Theo's gone... I just went to talk to the sheriff... I know, okay, I'm sorry, I just - ... Okay, be careful."

She hangs up and sets her phone down, looking back to Stiles. "He's sending Derek back. We really need to find Deaton, so I guess they aren't worrying about Theo right now. We'll take care of him later."

Stiles nods, his leg shaking up and down as he bites his nails. "I'm sorry I lost him, I should've... I should've done something..."

"You couldn't have done anything, Stiles, it's okay," Kira promises.

"Kira," Derek says as soon as he gets in the door five minutes later. "Scott needs more help, I'll stay here."

Kira nods, grabbing her keys and running out of the door.

Derek closes the door, sighing softly and turning to Stiles. "What have you gotten yourselves into while I've been gone?" he asks, attempting to lighten the mood.

But Stiles shakes his head, rubbing his eyes and looking up. "We never get a break, I can't... There are so many people to save, how can we... How do they deal with this?"

"Stiles," Derek says seriously, "you don't need to save everyone. You are never going to be able to save everyone. Okay? You can't blame yourself for that." And he pulls him close and hugs him, trying to stop his body from shaking so much.

Nodding softly, Stiles pulls back a couple moments later. He sighs and looks down, playing with his hands. "Thank you, Derek... I - I miss you. We all do."

"Yeah, I miss you too," the werewolf says with a small smile. "I don't know, I might stick around for a while. Seems like you guys are in some deep shit."

Stiles nods in agreement, looking back up again. "We always are." And before Derek can process anything, Stiles' lips are on his.

At first it's just a quick peck, and he pulls away. But then Derek pulls the human back to him and moves his lips against his. He makes sure to be as gentle as possible, because Stiles is especially fragile right now.

Stiles smiles softly and pulls Derek over to sit on the couch, where they make out for a while. After a few minutes, Stiles is on top of him, his legs on either side of him as they kiss. His hand is on the back of his neck, an injection of wolfsbane clutched tightly in his fist, and he's just about to make a move when he feels his wrist being gripped tightly. Derek stops and pulls his arm out in front of him so he can see, then looks up at Stiles. For a minute, he doesn't say anything, then he's the one on top. of Stiles, pinning him to the couch.

"Maybe you're smarter than they give you credit for," Stiles says, losing his grip on the injection and letting it fall to the floor. "You're the first one to figure it out on your own."

Derek growls, eyes narrowed at Stiles. "What are you?"

"Where's the fun in telling you that?" Stiles asks with a chuckle.

Derek just tightens his grip on Stiles's wrists, so much he thinks he might break them. "What do you want?" he asks.

"What do I want?" Stiles repeats, looking more serious. "You wanna know what I want?" He stares into Derek's eyes with hatred and anger, saying, "Chaos. I want chaos. And pain. And guess what? It hasn't even started yet. What you guys have given me so far is great, but - " and now he starts laughing more - "it hasn't even started yet."

Derek freezes for a moment, looking Stiles over a few times. "You're... That's impossible. No."

"What's impossible, Derek? Come on. What am I?"

Trying to think of any other explanation, Derek whispers, "Nogitsune."

Stiles has a smile plastered on his face, and he nods. "And you know what? The only people who know are you and Deaton, and Melissa... You should be pretty easy to cover up, but I'll have to make sure the Deaton doesn't ruin anything for me. And Melissa? Well, she didn't go down without a fight..."

A sudden wave of realization washes over Derek, and he lets go, stumbling to get up. "You killed her. You - How - I'm gonna kill you."

"Aw, you don't wanna upset poor Scott, do you? He would just be so broken up if he found out he lost his best friend, too." Stiles gets to his feet and straightens out his clothes, relishing in Derek's confusion. He can practically see the gears turning in his head, trying to wrap his head around this.

"This is impossible," he says finally. "We got rid of you years ago. You're supposed to be gone. Why did - he wouldn't - Stiles would never let you in again. I don't - "

Stiles huffs. "Oh, Derek, I'm not possessed. And I'm not just taking the shape of your friend again either. This is me. I'm Void."

"You're stronger than that, Stiles, you can fight it," Derek encourages, desperate.

"There's nothing to fight here! It's all me!" Stiles says, beginning to raise his voice. "I'm doing all this on my own. I never needed you. Any of you. And God, you have no idea what it's like to tear you all apart from the inside, and to just watch as you lose each other. One. By. One."

Derek lets out a loud growl, lunging for Stiles and grabbing him by the throat. He's pushing him into the wall, his claws threatening to tear his throat out. "How? How are you here, what happened?" he presses.

Stiles, making sure to stay still, smiles softly. "I would be careful with those if I were you, Derek. I mean, really, Scott's been through enough. First his mom... And pretty soon here I'm sure they'll be finding the doctor, but he'll be gone by then. Are you sure you wanna add his best friend to the list?"

"Where is he?" Derek asks. "Where's Deaton?"

Raising an eyebrow, Stiles chuckles carefully. "What's the point, huh? Why would I tell you? That takes the fun out of my game."

-

Deaton has lost track of the days he's been here. He's forgotten about his hunger, his thirst, all he can think about right now is how close the gun is to him. He's surrounded by the bodies of the people he loves. He killed them. What else is left for him?

How did this even happen, anyway? Wouldn't he have remembered shooting all these people? There's no time to try and figure anything out, it makes his head hurt even more, so he reaches for the gun on the floor.

As he lifts the weapon, all Deaton can do is just think, search for his memories. What the hell happened and what did he do? Why did he do this? Why is he doing this? There's nothing left.

It's getting closer. She doesn't know where she's going, she just knows she needs to follow the sound of the screaming. The sound takes Lydia's legs down a few flights of stairs, into the dark basement, where she finally snaps out of her trance. It's so loud here. It can't be anywhere else. So she looks around, behind shelves, closets, in every corner.

Lydia can't find anything, or anyone, and she's about to give up when the screaming gets even louder. She walks around the basement, following the sound until it's so loud she's sure there's some damage. The noise finally stop when she stands in front of a certain shelf. There's nothing special about it, but when she peeks behind it, she recognizes a familiar shape.

_Here._

The banshee doesn't hesitate to push the shelf over, knocking a few things to the ground in the process.

Scott is talking to the sheriff at the station when his phone rings, the only thing he's heard from Lydia all day. "Hey, did you find anything?"

"He's here," she says quickly. "At the school. The Hale vault. I need one of you to get me in. Hurry!"

Scott doesn't hesitate to hang up and start leaving the room immediately. "I gotta go, just - I'll be back!"

When he finds Lydia, she's banging on the wall and trying to scream through it. "He's in here, Scott, hurry!"

The alpha nods quickly, and Lydia watches as his claws come out and he puts them into the slot in the wall. The disc turns, and slowly the wall slides open.

But before they can even step in, there's a loud bang, a quick flash of light, and a body falling to the floor.


	6. tear you apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chaos is the nogitsune's favorite food, and man is he getting a feast tonight

Stiles falls into the wall again, but he quickly gains his balance and grabs Derek's arm as he tries to punch him, twisting it and kicking him back. The werewolf groans, getting back on his feet. This time he goes for the throat, his claws breaking the skin. He lets him bleed while he tightens his grip, growling angrily.

Actually struggling to get out of this one, Stiles attempts to cough and gasp for air as he's raised off the ground. "Derek - "

"I'm not falling for a pity act again, so don't try," he replies immediately. Right before Stiles passes out, Derek let's him fall to the ground, and before he can get back up, he's on top of him, punching and clawing at him.

"Are you really gonna kill me, Derek?" Stiles wheezes. "Are you doing this?"

Derek shakes his head and tries to ignore the taunting. It's so damn hard, he knows he can't do this. Maybe Stiles was lying, maybe there is a way to fix him.

By the time Derek finally realizes what he's doing and gets back, Stiles has cuts all over his arms and face, one on his chest, and blood coming from a split lip. He stumbles to get up, just smirking at Derek and wiping his face. "How you gonna explain this one?"

"Don't tempt me to finish," Derek threatens, and before he can do anything, his phone rings.

Stiles knows that if its Scott, he can't let Derek tell him anything, so he doesn't hesitate to jump at Derek and push him into the wall. He holds him there, his hands behind his back and his face smushed, like he's had done to him many times before, while he fishes the phone out of the werewolf's back pocket.

"Scott?" he says as soon as he answers, sounding out of breath as he puts a hand over Derek's mouth. It's a piece of cake to hold him with one hand, something he never thought he would be able to do.

"Stiles, where's Derek?" He sounds sniffly and nervous.

"Uh - I don't - I can't - It's hard to explain, I'll tell you later. Is everything okay?"

Scott hesitates, then says, "N - no. It's... Deaton's dead."

At this, Derek struggles more, trying to scream to get Scott to hear, but Stiles just holds his face tighter.

"Oh, my God..." Scott can practically hear the panic attack in Stiles's voice. "No, no it - no..." He starts breathing heavier, whimpering.

"Hey, Stiles, breathe, okay? It's not your fault." Stiles sighs. "Can you drive alright?"

Stiles nods. "Yeah, I think so. I - I'll be right there." He hangs up and looks back at Derek, smiling again. "But you won't."

He finally lets go of him and sprints out to his car, getting in the driver's seat and starting to back out of the driveway. Derek is already coming outside to rush to his car, but as he tries to open the driver's side, Stiles passes by him. "Good luck getting to Scott without your car." And with a chuckle, he speeds away.

"Wha - " Derek shakes his head and sighs, reaching into his pocket for his keys, panicking when he realizes they aren't there. He checks the other pockets, then it hits him that they're probably already halfway to the school.

When Stiles gets there, police cars are already all around the school. Students and teachers are rushing out the door, looking terrified, and the staff that stayed behind are trying to keep the students that stayed back. He pushes past the big crowd, ignoring the people telling him that he can't go back there.

"Scott?" Stiles calls when he gets down the stairs. Just as he's turning the corner to where the Hale vault is located, though, his dad steps out and pulls him away.

''You shouldn't be - What happened?"

Stiles looks down at his blood covered clothes and bruises. "I can't - don't - where's Scott?"

"Don't worry about it," the sherif says, shaking his head. "Let's get you cleaned up. Who did this?"

"Dad, let me go!" Stiles exclaims, stepping away. "I can't deal with this right now, just let me talk to Scott. Where is he?"

John sighs and rubs his face, pointing behind Stiles. "Over there, with all of the officers trying to figure out why there's a hidden room in the basement of the high school."

Nodding, Stiles turns and pushes past another crowd of people and officers to find examiners taking pictures of Deaton's dead body and the gun by his hand. Off to the side, Scott and Lydia are standing in shock, faces wet with tears.

"I can't handle this anymore... What is happening?" he can hear Scott whispering as he gets closer.

All of this confusion, the grief, heartache, loss, fear... It's just filling him up, and he can feel himself getting stronger by the minute.

"Scott - "

But before he can get anything else out, Scott is freaking out about him. "Stiles, what happened, who did this?"

Him and Lydia rush over and surround him, inspecting his injuries. "It - I can't..." Stiles's breathing is heavy and uneven, and Scott can feel him shaking. "Scott, it's Derek. He - He attacked me. I don't kn - know what happened or why, I just - I had to get away from him."

Scott wants so bad to be there for his best friend and help him, but he can't do that unless he helps himself first. He's so lost. Everything hurts, he hasn't slept in so long, and he has no idea what's going on in his life anymore.

Lydia sits Stiles down on a crate nearby while Scott steps away and tries to catch his breath. "Where is he now?" she asks, kneeling next to him.

"He - He was chasing me, I... He's coming," Stiles answers, his head in his hands.

"How close was he to you?" Lydia asks.

Stiles shrugs, his knee bouncing up and down as he looks around and bites his nails. "He wasn't - I took his keys, he couldn't drive... Where is everyone?"

"Your dad made them stay at the station," Scott answers, turning back around and walking back to them. "How is this happening... What the hell is going on?"

They're interrupted by someone calling Scott's name, and look up to see Derek pushing through everyone to get to him. "Okay, listen whatever he's told you, don't trust him. It's him, okay? He's - "

Stiles stands up quickly, stepping back with fear in his eyes. "He already knows, it's too late. I - I don't know what happened to you while you were gone, but... Just leave us alone, p - please..."

"Are you kidding me?" Derek starts raising his voice, and Lydia has to grab Stiles's arm when he starts jumping more. "Scott, he tried to kill me!"

"Then why is he the only one covered in blood here?" Lydia asks.

Derek pauses, unable to explain it. But he doesn't stop trying to convince them. "I - I was defending myself. He was - It's the Nogitsune! It's back and it's messing with all of you!"

"What?" Stiles asks, a look of disbelief on his face. "That isn't even possible, we got rid of the Nogitsune years ago!"

Too frustrated to use reason, Derek growls and pushes Stiles into the wall, pinning him. "It's over, just let it go! You can't - "

Scott pries Derek off of the human and holds him away from him. "Don't touch him!"

Derek has to take a few breaths to calm himself down before talking again. "Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but it's back. Why can't you just listen to me?"

"Because you've been gone for a long time," Lydia cuts in. "We have no idea what you were doing or what happened while you were away, so we can't just trust you right off the bat."

"Why are you even here, anyway?" Stiles asks. "How would you know what was happening and that we needed help?"

Scott raises a brow, pausing and turning to Stiles. "You called him. You asked him to come."

"Wha - Is that what he told you?" Stiles asks. At Scott's nod, Stiles shakes his head. "I never called him, Scott."

"What are you talking about!" Derek yells, looking like he's about to lost his mind. "Yes you did, you called me and asked me to help, you told me about everything."

Stiles shakes his head. "N - No I didn't."

"Scott, how can you believe I would do this?"

Scott just shrugs, glancing away. "I mean, the timing is right. They... Deaton and Stiles just went to grab something quickly from the clinic, and it took me two hours to get a call from Stiles. That's plenty of time to knock him out and take Deaton here."

"I didn't - I came straight to your house as soon as I got the messages from Stiles!" Derek screams. "I didn't do this, okay? Please, you have to believe me!"

"Hey!"

All three of them jump and turn to find the Sheriff, arms crossed with a serious expression. "I think you need to go home now."

Scott nods, sighing and glancing one more time at Deaton's body. "O - Okay..."

"Go on over to our place, alright?" John says, clapping a hand on Scott's shoulder and giving him a look of pity. "I'll bring dinner when I'm done here."

The alpha doesn't look at the sheriff as he starts walking away, making sure Derek is away from Stiles as they leave. John grabs Lydia's arm when they're far enough, turning her around. "What is Stiles not telling me? What's going on?"

"I don't think any of us know, Sheriff," Lydia says, sighing.

"Can you try? I need to know if my son is gonna be okay."

Biting her bottom lip hesitantly, Lydia looks down. "We don't know for sure, but something might be going on with Derek. I'll text you if I find anything out, okay? I promise. I have to go now."

She pulls away and follows after them, going to Stiles's car. She stays in the back with Derek, where they're making him feel like a prisoner.

As soon as they get in the door, Scott has to tell Lydia to stay with Stiles and Derek as he rushes up the stairs and into his best friend's room. He has no idea what he's doing anymore, he's pretty sure they're all lost. Usually he knows what to do. He's supposed to be the one protecting everyone, how can he do that when he's losing everyone he trusts?

Screaming, Scott hits the wall in a rage. He can't control his frustration and just keeps throwing things. Pillows and CDs are flying, and he slides Stiles's chess board off the desk. Who is he supposed to ask for help now? Who can he even trust?

"Lydia, please, you have to believe me..." Stiles begs, pacing the room and biting his nails. "He - He almost killed me, and he's gonna kill someone else if you let him go."

The redhead nods, grabbing his hands and trying to get him to stand still. "Hey, hey, listen to me. Calm down. Breathe. You're gonna be okay."

"Y... You believe me?" Stiles asks softly.

"Of course I believe you," Lydia replies in a quiet voice. "There's no way you did any of this."

Stiles lets out a huge breath, shaking out his hands and biting his bottom lip. "Thank you so much, that - "

"Come on, you've fallen for this before - we all have," Derek interrupts. He gets off of the couch and crosses his arms. "I told you, it's him. Just watch. Let him go and someone is going to die. I just hope Scott isn't too stupid to see it."

Lydia shakes her head and squeezes Stiles's hand reassuringly. "Scott already knows it's not Stiles. He's just trying to figure out what to do with you."

They can all hear the sound of feet running down the stairs, then Scott comes around the corner. "Lydia, go get the others from the station, I'll stay here."

"Are you sure you'll be okay - "

"Yes, just go!"

So she grabs Stiles's car keys and runs out the door, leaving the other three in an awkward silence.

After a few minutes, Derek finally talks.

"So what are you gonna do with me? I guess you all think I'm out to kill you all now. Are you gonna kill me now?"

Scott shakes his head. "No. But we're not giving you the opportunity to hurt anyone."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Then the door opens, and the sheriff comes in looking extremely cautious. "So? Is anyone going to explain to me what's going on?"

Scott sighs, pulling him to the side where he can still keep an eye on Derek. "Derek attacked Stiles. I think. I'm pretty sure. He almost killed him, and now Derek is telling us that Stiles is responsible for everything that's going on."

"There is no way it's Stiles, he just - "

"I know," Scott agrees. "It's not Stiles, I just... I don't know what to do anymore. What do I do with him? I'm not just gonna kill him."

John shakes his head, sighing. "I... I mean, I can hold him at the station until we know what we're dealing with here... Where's Lydia?"

"She went to get the others from the station."

"And who all is that?"

Before Scott can answer, though, is phone rings, and he quickly picks it up and puts it on speaker. "Hello?"

"They're gone," Lydia says. "They aren't here."

"What do you mean?" Scott asks urgently.

Looking around the office, Lydia runs a hand through her hair stressfully. "I mean they're gone! Kira, Malia, Liam, and Mason and Hayden - They aren't here."

-

Mason screams, looking around the dark room. It's cold and feels almost like a basement, but he can't investigate more due to the fact that he's strapped down to a cold metal table. He can see his friends on the floor chained up too, but they're all asleep.

"Hello?" he yells. "Liam, wake up, please! Hayden! Hello?"

"They won't be up for a while, Mason," a voice says from behind him. He tries to crane his neck, because he knows that voice, but no, there is no way he is going to let himself be trapped in a room with Theo.

Mason shakes his head and closes his eyes tightly. "Please don't... What are you gonna do?"

"I'm cleaning up Stiles's mess. He really has no strategy, does he?"

"Wh - What? What does Stiles have to do with this?"

Theo chuckles, making his way over and stopping by the side of the table. "Oh, so much more than you think. I mean, sure, he's strong and useful now, but is that really worth it if he gets caught? The least he can do is clean up after himself."

"What are you talking about?" Mason asks louder, tears in his eyes.

Theo looks back up at him, smirking. "It wasn't me that killed Scotts's mom. And I didn't kill Deaton either. Nope, that was all on Stiles..."

"No, he - he couldn't - he's not..."

"You know that he was with me those weeks he was missing, right? But no one knows what we were doing, do they?"

Mason shakes off a few tears, trying to stay calm so he can at least talk. "What do you want? What are you doing?" he asks as he watches Theo fiddle with the scary looking tools on a table next to them.

"Mason," Theo starts, sighing deeply. "There is so much more that not even your friends know about. There's so much more to the story. And you know what? You play a huge part in it."

"What do you mean?"

Ignoring the question, Theo picks up a big tool that looks like an injection of some sort. "Unfortunately for you, that story is ending in the middle. There's just too much going on to deal with you."

"Wait, no, what do you mean, what is going on?" Mason screams, eyes wide as Theo brings the tool closer to him.

Theo holds the needle right at Mason's neck, relishing in how he squirms and screams.

"Please, Theo, stop! Don't, what are you - " Mason stops, gasping as a big injection is pushed into his neck. When Theo lets him go and pulls it out, his eyes are still big and scared as he breathes raggedly for the last time.


	7. one final mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the final chapter :)))

"I need APBs out on these guys," John orders the officers at the station before going back in his office with Lydia, Scott, and Stiles. "Do you have any idea at all where they might be?"

Lydia shakes her head, sighing. "I'm sorry."

"Okay. Scott, you come with me. Lydia and Stiles - just wait here, okay?"

"Wait, dad," Stiles says, grabbing his father's arm. "You're not just gonna leave me here, are you?"

The sheriff bites his bottom lip. "It's where you're safest. Come on, Scott."

"Where are we going?" The teenager asks as they get in the sheriff's car.

John sighs. "I don't know yet."

As they drive all over town, Scott rolls his window down and tries to pick up scents, but there's nothing.

"It has to be Theo, right?" John asks. "Derek is locked up, we were with him when they were taken."

"Unless there's someone else. But i don't think I can handle another betrayal right now."

After another twenty minutes of driving around aimlessly, Scott's phone starts buzzing, and he pulls it out and picks up.

"Lydia? Wh - What's up?"

But it isn't her talking. "There's something else, isn't there? What is it, Lydia?" Stiles asks.

Lydia shakes her head, taking shaky breaths and pacing the room. "Something is wrong. Something is - is off. Something isn't adding up."

"What is it?"

"Oh, my God - "

After that, the line drops, and all he hears is silence.

"Go home, go to my house."

"What's wrong?" John asks.

Scott shakes his head quickly. "I don't know - Just go!"

John has to chase Scott inside, finding him rummaging around and making a mess of the house. He's looking for something, but he just doesn't know what yet.

"Scott, look at me."

The werewolf looks up, fear in his eyes. "Something is wrong, okay?"

"Obviously."

"No, just listen. Lydia is smart. She didn't just accidentally call me, there was a reason she wanted me to hear her. She was figuring something out, and she - she had it, but... someone didn't want her to. And, Sheriff, I..." He stops there, completely taken aback by his thoughts and not wanting to say it out loud. Then he spots it. There's something small on the floor behind the door. Cautiously he walks over and bends down to inspect it, and as he picks it up, his stomach plummets. It's a small bottle of wolfsbane, just enough to kill a werewolf.

"You think Derek's telling the truth. That this - this was all Stiles?" John says, shaking his head. "There's no way in hell that my son had any part in this, okay? Come up with a new explanation."

"Guys, come on," says a voice from behind. "If you're gonna gossip about someone, at least make sure they're not around to get their feelings hurt."

The sheriff quickly turns around to find his son grinning smugly, hands in his pocket. "Stiles," he says slowly, reaching for his gun.

"Wrong answer."

And before he knows it, his hand is smacked away and he's pushed to the ground, his gun gone. Scott stands up quickly and goes for Stiles, but he hears it being cocked and freezes.

"Do you remember, Dad," he begins, still looking at Scott, "when you first found out about Scott? About everything? You started putting wolfsbane laced bullets in your guns. You know, just to be safe. So tell me... did you ever stop that habit? Or should we test it to make sure?"

Stiles steps forward, gun aimed at Scott's head, and John sits up quickly. "No, stop!"

"Derek was right about you," Scott says, shaking his head in disbelief. "How did this even happen, Stiles? Are you - Can I even call you that anymore? Cause you're not my best friend. So who are you?"

"Sure it's me, Scotty. New and improved."

The sheriff shakes his head in disbelief, scoffing. "No. No, you're not my son. What happened to him?"

"Derek already told you guys. You're just too loyal and stupid to listen to him."

Scotts whole body slumps with realization as he looks Stiles up and down. "No, there's no way you... We got rid of you, you can't be - how are you back?"

Stiles chuckles in amusement, smiling at his father and best friend. "Oh, it's so much more than that, Scott. See, we did defeat the Nogitsune. We were pretty badass too, weren't we? But it's not gonna be so easy this time. Because I'm not possessed. And he didn't just take my form, did he? No. Ah - I can see the little gears turning in your head. Come on. You're a smart boy." He waits a few moments, but Scott just stares at him, too scared to say anything. "No? Okay, fine. I am the Nogitsune. But how did I go from human to evil spirit in less than a month? Well, I had a little help from your old buddy Theo."

"What?" John asks, still completely lost.

"You're a chimera," Scott finally says, staring into Stiles' eyes. He's looking for a bit of hope, for a little bit of the old Stiles, but they're just empty and lifeless.

"Where are the others, what are you doing to them?" John asks.

Stiles turns to his father, smiling. "It's not me. It's Theo. Whatever he's doing, I'm sure it's a blast." He just looks between the two, the fear and sadness in their expressions is priceless, and he relishes in it. "Since I came back, your lives have been nothing but panic and confusion. That - That chaos is everything I want. It's..." And he just smiles wider, taunting Scott.

Then a sudden wave of emotions hits Scott and he quickly stands up straighter. "You killed her. You - You killed my mom."

"Oh, trust me, Scott," Stiles says with a snicker, "she did not go down without a fight. It was... gut-wrenching, heartbreaking... the disappointment in her eyes when she finally realized she was dying at the hands of her son's best friend..."

Scott lets out a loud growl, forgetting about the gun in Stiles's hand. He runs at him, fangs bared and claws out. John screaming his name is just background noise as he jumps at Stiles. But there's a loud bang and before he knows what's happening, he's lying back on the ground, hand over his stomach and blood soaking through his shirt.

"No... No..." Scott groans in pain, rolling on his side and looking at John.

The sheriff wipes tears from his eyes, shaking his head and looking up at his son. "Stiles. Stiles, please," he begs. "I know you're still there somewhere. Please don't let this happen. Just - Just stop! Please help him, get that bullet out of him!"

"Sorry, dad, I warned him. He tried to attack me anyway."

Sobbing softly, John shakes his head. "O - Okay, fine, then please... Just kill me. I don't wanna deal with this anymore. I - I can't do it."

"No. This is your torture. Watching your only son disappear right in front of your eyes," Stiles says. And he turns away, looking down at his dying best friend.

"Stiles... Please..." It hurts Scott to cry as hard as he is, but he can't help it. "Please stop this, you - "

Stiles chuckles and kneels down to get closer. "Too late. You're as good as dead now."

Maybe it's pride. Maybe it's hatred. But something comes over Scott and he knows he can't be weak, so he takes a breath, and stares at Stiles, cold and hard. "So are you."

Confused, Stiles ignores him and stands up, walking out the open door and slamming it behind him. But when he gets in his car to go find Theo, he sees it in the mirror. A small stream of silver liquid running from his nose.

-

"Scott's gonna find us. He's gonna kill you," Kira says surely, but she's shaking from fear and cold.

Theo smirks. "Well, you're pretty confident for someone who's surrounded by their dead friends, aren't you? Besides, something tells me you're not gonna hear from Scott for a while," he says, looking at his phone.

"And what would make you think that?" Liam asks, growling and pulling as hard as he possibly can on the chains that are holding him down.

"Me."

And Stiles enters from the other side of the room, wiping his face with his sleeve.

"Stiles?" Kira asks.

"What, are you just killing them all?" Stiles asks, getting over to Theo and pulling him close. He roughly kisses him and pushes him against a table, smiling. "Not even gonna let me have any fun?"

Theo snickers. "Trust me, you've had enough fun. Things are getting messy."

"What the hell is going on?" Liam asks, kicking around. "Stiles!"

Stiles impatiently pulls back from Theo and looks at Liam and Kira, rolling his eyes. "I'm not explaining this again. Theo can fill you in later. Right now we're busy." And without another word he pulls Theo's body as close as possible. Kira and Liam watch in disgust as they practically eat each other's faces, only stopping to breath every few minutes.

But after much too long, Theo stops and puts a hand on Stiles's chest. "I - I love you," he says, sounding almost scared for once.

Stiles just smiles smugly and kisses him sloppily again. "I know you do," he mutters against his lips.

"Are you almost done?" Liam asks, just before a loud clang sounds throughout the space.

"What was that?" Kira asks.

Stiles sighs. "It's them." He turns around, sniffing and running a hand through his hair. "Listen, Theo - " but when he turns around, the other chimera sees another stream of the silver substance coming from his mouth.

"No. No, no, no... this isn't happening, it can't..." Theo looks at Stiles with tears in his eyes, shaking his head. "You're not leaving me, not like this, please."

But before Stiles can respond, the doctors are right behind him. He's being grabbed by both arms and no matter how much he struggles, he can barely move. _"No! Please, stop! Theo, help!"_ He screams desperately.

"No, please don't do this," Theo begs, pushing one of the doctors back. "I just got him, please don't take him away!"

"Condition terminal" is the only response he gets.

Tears falling continuously, Theo lets out a sob. _"Stiles!"_

But Stiles is pushed onto his knees and a needle is injected into his neck. And just for a second, Liam swears that he sees a flicker of Stiles - the real Stiles - begging for help, forgiveness, anything he can get. And then he's gone, just a body on the cold, wet floor.


End file.
